Is the mother required to appear at initial support hearing?

[mcwjjm]

Ohio. The mother has decided to drop the child support case after our hearing date was set. What happens if she doesn't attend the hearing? Will the case automatically be dropped, rescheduled or what? This is a re-schedule from the the 1st hearing which for some reason never received notice about [?]. She called them last week about her wanting to drop the case and they were very short with her, saying that if she did that she may lose all her benefits [title 20/food stamps]. We've been seperated for one year, we have two children together. I've been paying her support directly during our seperation as well as maintaining visitation with the kids. I have also maintained the health care I provided when we did live together. We are considering a reconciliation. Thanks in advance.What is the name of your state?

 

[Mediate]

Ohio. The mother has decided to drop the child support case after our hearing date was set. What happens if she doesn't attend the hearing? Will the case automatically be dropped, rescheduled or what? This is a re-schedule from the the 1st hearing which for some reason never received notice about [?]. She called them last week about her wanting to drop the case and they were very short with her, saying that if she did that she may lose all her benefits [title 20/food stamps]. We've been seperated for one year, we have two children together. I've been paying her support directly during our seperation as well as maintaining visitation with the kids. I have also maintained the health care I provided when we did live together. We are considering a reconciliation. Thanks in advance.What is the name of your state?

Very simple: you do not show up at a hearing, you risk the chance of losing and/or arguing any facts into evidence.

Anytime a party has not been required to attend, a notice specifically stating that personal appearance is not required is sent (at least that I have seen).

 

[CJane]

Your reconciliation is irrelevant to the support issue. There's no reason she can't receive support if you're living together.

She stands to lose those 'benefits' anyway if you reconcile, I would assume, but the fact is if she's receiving state aid, she's REQUIRED to assist the state in collecting child support - if she refuses to do-so, they can refuse to extend benefits, and in the future when she DOES pursue child support, she'll be paying the state back for their generosity.

 

[LdiJ]

Your reconciliation is irrelevant to the support issue. There's no reason she can't receive support if you're living together.

She stands to lose those 'benefits' anyway if you reconcile, I would assume, but the fact is if she's receiving state aid, she's REQUIRED to assist the state in collecting child support - if she refuses to do-so, they can refuse to extend benefits, and in the future when she DOES pursue child support, she'll be paying the state back for their generosity.

He didn't say whether or not they were married. If they are married she can't collect child support if they are living together.

 

[Ohiogal]

He didn't say whether or not they were married. If they are married she can't collect child support if they are living together.

Try again. It happens quite a bit.

 

[CJane]

He didn't say whether or not they were married. If they are married she can't collect child support if they are living together.

In some cases, yeah, she can. Seen it happen here.

BUT... this is from OP's first post on the boards

I have two sons age, 2 and 4. While their mother [we were not married] & I lived together I paid almost all the bills [rent/utilities/car/insurance/kids on my medical] and split the other costs 50/50. She covered day care which was title 20 and I picked up the nominal tutition. She moved out with the kids in mid-November. I began paying her support shortly before that and have continued to do so.

OP has already set a precendent that he's willing to pay her support while they live together - so making an issue of it now would be rather silly.

 

[mcwjjm]

We were not married. What happens if neither of us show up for the re-scheduled hearing? I'm not sure what happened for the 1st hearing as neither of us ever received notice. Don't know if they were forced to re-schedule for staffing reasons or was it due to the fact that either of the two parties showed? Thanks again for the replies.

 

[CJane]

We were not married. What happens if neither of us show up for the re-scheduled hearing?

Mom has been given a choice - go to the hearing and follow through with her child support filing, or lose her benefits. It's up to her how to handle it. If you're ordered to pay support and you reconcile, you're essentially paying support to yourself if you have joint accounts or she uses the support for the household. If you don't reconcile, you have an order for support in place. If you reconcile NOW and break up LATER, you don't have to go through this again.

Where's the down-side? Unless it's that you don't trust her to use the support for the 'family' if you reconcile and if that's the case, why bother?

 

[Ohiogal]

Mom has been given a choice - go to the hearing and follow through with her child support filing, or lose her benefits. It's up to her how to handle it. If you're ordered to pay support and you reconcile, you're essentially paying support to yourself if you have joint accounts or she uses the support for the household. If you don't reconcile, you have an order for support in place. If you reconcile NOW and break up LATER, you don't have to go through this again.

Where's the down-side? Unless it's that you don't trust her to use the support for the 'family' if you reconcile and if that's the case, why bother?

Several downsides if they reconcile:
The 2% processing fee every month adds up.
The rules requiring notification of every move they make.
Receiving child support is a red flag that the relationship is not stable and can impact a variety of things.
If they want to buy a house or other major purchase (not saying it is smart) the child support can work against them as it is NOT income for mom but counts as income for dad and yet when calculated into major purchases is actually seen as a liability.
The 6 week to 2 month in arrearages he will have when the order is first set.
The delay in getting the money back -- it will NOT be instantaneous and it may be more helpful to have it in the household immediately if they are together.

 

[mcwjjm]

Several downsides if they reconcile:
The 2% processing fee every month adds up.
The rules requiring notification of every move they make.
Receiving child support is a red flag that the relationship is not stable and can impact a variety of things.
If they want to buy a house or other major purchase (not saying it is smart) the child support can work against them as it is NOT income for mom but counts as income for dad and yet when calculated into major purchases is actually seen as a liability.
The 6 week to 2 month in arrearages he will have when the order is first set.
The delay in getting the money back -- it will NOT be instantaneous and it may be more helpful to have it in the household immediately if they are together.

You make some good points. I only began paying her support when it was obvious we were seperating, till then I paid the rent/utilities/medical/car and she helped up where she could. Should we get back together things would go back to our previous arrangement as she is still in school and doesn't have steady income. She's seeking employment now so the loss of benefits would be inevidable regardless of our case. I plan on showing up for our case even though she will not, what should I expect to take place with her absent? Thanks for all your help!

 

[Mediate]

You make some good points. I only began paying her support when it was obvious we were seperating, till then I paid the rent/utilities/medical/car and she helped up where she could. Should we get back together things would go back to our previous arrangement as she is still in school and doesn't have steady income. She's seeking employment now so the loss of benefits would be inevidable regardless of our case. I plan on showing up for our case even though she will not, what should I expect to take place with her absent? Thanks for all your help!

Stop paying for her stuff. If neither of you show up, you've been told numerous scenarios that could take place, depending on the situation. If she is the one petitioning to drop the support and she does not show up, they very well could drop it as a default. Or they could not.
If she is getting benefits of any kind, she might not be able to stop it (and quite frankly, you wouldnt' want that either because Ohio will come after you). As pointed out, some programs in Ohio consider child support as income, although for tax purposes, it is not (like HEAP and other assistance programs). You two best get your heads out of your butts and think this through because you both could be creating a big mess for bothof you.

 

[Ohiogal]

Stop paying for her stuff. If neither of you show up, you've been told numerous scenarios that could take place, depending on the situation. If she is the one petitioning to drop the support and she does not show up, they very well could drop it as a default. Or they could not.
If she is getting benefits of any kind, she might not be able to stop it (and quite frankly, you wouldnt' want that either because Ohio will come after you). As pointed out, some programs in Ohio consider child support as income, although for tax purposes, it is not (like HEAP and other assistance programs). You two best get your heads out of your butts and think this through because you both could be creating a big mess for bothof you.

Just to clarify -- HEAP does consider child support as income -- and they count it twice. It is considered income in the NCPs household AND the CPs household. If you are recieving child support YOU MUST put it on Heap applications and if you are paying child support -- well your income before child support counts when determining HEAP and other assistance you (food stamps, medical, etcetera) may receive.

 

[Mediate]

Just to clarify -- HEAP does consider child support as income -- and they count it twice. It is considered income in the NCPs household AND the CPs household. If you are recieving child support YOU MUST put it on Heap applications and if you are paying child support -- well your income before child support counts when determining HEAP and other assistance you (food stamps, medical, etcetera) may receive.

Thanks for pointing out my goof. I meant to put "cs is considered income" for programs like HEAP, but I goofed and didn't bother to proofread and correct myself.

 

[Ohiogal]

Thanks for pointing out my goof. I meant to put "cs is considered income" for programs like HEAP, but I goofed and didn't bother to proofread and correct myself.

I just wanted to make sure the clarification was out there so that OP would not misunderstand.

 

[CJane]

Several downsides if they reconcile:
The 2% processing fee every month adds up.

Ohio adds a processing fee??? Gawd, nothing like nickle and diming you to death, huh?

Receiving child support is a red flag that the relationship is not stable and can impact a variety of things.

It's a weird thing. A former co-worker and her husband divorced and a couple of years later reconciled and moved back in together. They attempted to stop the CS order (no state assistance being received) and were unable to. In fact, they were told by the judge that it could very well remain in place once they remarried.

***Edited to add: I know they're different states, but the differences sometimes amaze me***

I agree that it's a red flag re: instability - but I doubt that's a concern for OP w/all this breaking up/supporting her/not supporting her/moving back in stuff.

The 6 week to 2 month in arrearages he will have when the order is first set.
The delay in getting the money back -- it will NOT be instantaneous and it may be more helpful to have it in the household immediately if they are together.

Isn't it likely that since Mom is on assistance, the order will be set anyway because the state is going to want their money back?